PAVAROTTI AT 90
OUT NOW: Novanta (Ninety)
A 74-track album celebrating Pavarotti’s life in music:
from his earliest recordings to iconic duets and rare performances
Listen to Novanta here.
This year marks what would have been the 90th birthday (12 October) of one of the most iconic voices in music history – Luciano Pavarotti. To honour this milestone, Decca Records is spearheading PAVAROTTI 90, a worldwide tribute celebrating the tenor’s unmatched contribution to classical music, his international appeal, and his legacy of bringing opera to the masses.
Decca releases a 74-track collection that explores the full journey of Pavarotti’s musical life entitled ‘Novanta’ (Ninety) with over 4 and half hours of music. The album is released worldwide on 10 October.
‘Novanta’ begins at the beginning, with a remarkable moment from 1961, documenting the first known recording of Maestro Pavarotti’s solo voice. Here, he sings ‘Che gelida manina’ from Puccini’s La bohème, in a small regional Italian opera house, the Teatro Municipale, Reggio Emilia, and on his Italian professional debut.
From here, the tracks are presented in the order in which the recordings were made, to a 60-track selection of Pavarotti, always an exclusive Decca recording artist, singing some of the great operatic tenor roles; in sacred as well as Italian song; in duet with some of the world’s most acclaimed rock and pop artists and superstar friends; with his fellow Three Tenors, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras; and finally in two, specially-commissioned pop songs, take from his final studio album ,‘Ti Adoro’, which was released in 2003.
Alongside this unique recorded music odyssey, Decca presents some special rarities, recent discoveries, and previously unheard tracks to round off the ‘Novanta’ collection. From the first known recording to feature the voice of Luciano Pavarotti, captured as he sang in a choir competition in Llangollen, North Wales, in 1955, through to arias from a special anniversary concert given in the same location forty years later, there is much be cherished for the very first time.
Rarities, new discoveries and previously unheard tracks include:
- Three rare ‘Pavarotti & Friends’ duets with Queen, Lou Reed and Barry White
- Three arias from the previously unreleased Llangollen concert (1995)
- ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ with The Three Tenors – available for the first time digitally, and unheard since 1998
- Five tracks from the 1978 concert at the Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal – available for the first time on Decca
- One of the only known recordings of Verdi’s ‘Hymn of the Nations’
- ‘Bonjour mon coeur’ by Lassus, recorded in 1955, and thought to be the first known recording featuring Luciano Pavarotti
Pavarotti’s widow Nicoletta Mantovani says, ‘On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Luciano’s birth, my thoughts go to the extraordinary man he was, capable of bringing opera into the hearts of millions, of combining impeccable technique and pure emotion, and of blending excellence and authenticity like never before. Luciano believed deeply in the power of music to bring people together, to lift the spirit, to inspire.
His voice continues to ring out today, familiar, close, with the same strength and charisma as ever; in every note, its beauty and grace remain untouched. On this important anniversary, we wanted to collect some of his most iconic performances in an album that represents a journey into Luciano’s heart and life. It is a tribute to his art, but also to his mission: to make music a universal heritage, without barriers. Each song is a caress, a living memory, an invisible thread that still connects us to him. Luciano loved his audience with a rare intensity. He felt every applause as a hug and every concert as a mutual gift. Today, with this album, that gift goes on. It is our way of celebrating him, of saying thank you, of keeping him close to us, alive in his notes, in his smile, in the voice that continues to touch the world.’
Pavarotti: The Lost Concert
Mercury Studios unveils a deeply moving new 60-minute documentary that resurrects a long-forgotten performance by one of the greatest voices in music history. Pavarotti: The Lost Concert is built around a remarkable rediscovery: Luciano Pavarotti’s emotional return to the small Welsh town of Llangollen in the summer of 1995, to fulfil a promise he made four decades earlier. Now, for the first time, Pavarotti: The Lost Concert brings this emotional homecoming back to life, combining restored concert footage, intimate archive, and newly commissioned interviews with those who witnessed both performances: the first steps of a legend, and his final return. Pavarotti: The Lost Concert will premiere to the international market at MIPCOM this autumn.
On 21 November, both the audio release of The Lost Concert: Live from Llangollen (1995) on Decca Classics and Mercury Studios’ BluRay edition of the full performance will follow, bringing this emotional homecoming to audiences around the world. The recording features the tenor at the height of his powers performing with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, soprano Atzuko Kawahara and Corale Rossini. The recording has been re-mastered and comes with a 100-page collector’s book filled with essays, photographs and archive material. It also includes two original 1955 recordings of the Corale Rossini, Bonjour mon cœur and In Nomine Jesu, believed to be the earliest surviving audio featuring Pavarotti’s voice, as well as a rare interview where he recalls his first visit to Wales.